Rail anchor



Nov. 29, 1938. J. M. FAIR 2,138,447

RAIL ANCHOR Filed Jan. 26, 1938 NW H0 g2 Z i i I 2 181 18 J9, i I l i WW!!!) l fjwezzioz" James Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in rail anchors adapted to be applied to railroad rails to engage cross ties or other stationary parts of the road bed to prevent longitudinal displacement or creeping of the rails over the supports therefor.

The particular type of anchor to which the invention relates is formed of a steel bar and comprises a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and to engage the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bottom bar and adapted to extend inwardly over one side of the rail base and to have its free end portion engaged with the top of the rail base, and means on the other end of the bottom bar to retain the anchor in place upon the rail base.

Rail anchors of this particular type, in the various forms in which they have been used, have been defective and objectionable in cases of derailed car wheels, because, when the parts or arms of the anchors which extend over and engage the top of a rail base have been struck by derailed wheels, the result has been that the blows struck by such wheels have been applied to the anchors with sufiicient force to cause them to break parts of the rail bases in the regions of their engagement therewith, or otherwise to impair or damage the same to such an extent as to make it necessary to remove the damaged rails from the track and to substitute new rails for them.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a rail anchor of such novel and advantageous construction that the danger of rail breakage and damage, under the conditions referred to, will be materially lessened, and, in many cases, completely eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to so form and relate the parts of the improved anchor as to increase the strength and holding power thereof Without increasing the quantity of metal employed in the construction thereof.

The invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of the. parts of the improved anchor, and in the relation thereof to the railroad rail to which it is applied, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating the invention,

Figure l is a plan of a part of a railroad rail, a part of a cross tie supporting the same, and the improved rail anchor applied to the rail,

Figure 2 is aside View thereof,

Figure 3 is a vertical section, on line 33 of Fig. l, and

.Figures 4, v5, 6 and '7 are sectional details, on lines 44, 5.5, 6--.6 and l'I, respectively of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, 2 designates a railroad rail, and 8 an underlying cross tie forming a part of the road bed, and supporting the rail 2, and over which the ,rail tends to creep forwardly or in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, under the well known conditions.

The improved rail anchor 9 is applied to the base I ii of the rail 2, and it is formed of a single piece of bar of steel or other suitable metal, and

,it comprises a bottom, bar H extending transversely beneath the rail base I0, an arm I2 extending upwardly from one end of the bar II and inwardlyover one side of the rail base I0, and a projection I3 on the other end of the bar .I I and extending upwardly therefrom above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the other side thereof.

The central portion of the bottom bar II is downwardly bowed, as illustrated, and it has two bearing parts or surfaces It and I5 which engage the bottom surface of the rail base adjacent to the respective sides thereof.

The arm I2 is bowed outwardly and upwardly in spaced relation to the adjacent side edge of the rail base it as the arm extends from the bottom bar I I; and the arm I2 extends inwardly over the adjacent side of the rail base Ill, and a it terminates in a free end portion I6 having a bottom bearing surface I! which engages the top surface of the rail base, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

When the anchor is applied to the rail, the projection I3 rests adjacent and in close proximity to the adjacent side edge of the rail base, and it serves to prevent. accidental displacement of the anchor outwardly from the opposite side of the rail base.

In the normal condition of the rail anchor, before being applied to the rail base, the space between its bearing surfaces I4 and I? is somewhat less than that shown in the drawing, and the relation of its bearing surfaces It, I5 and II are such that when the anchor is applied to the rail base III, the bar II and arm I2 are sprung apart, so that the anchor, in tending to resume its normal condition, will press the bearing surfaces I4 and I5 of the bar II up against the bottom of the rail base, and will press the bearing surface ll of the arm I2 down upon the top of the rail base by the resilient action of the metal forming the anchor, and thereby cause the anchor to firmly grip the rail base.

In applying the anchor to the rail base, the bar I i is extended beneath the rail base, and the arm I 2 is extended over one side of the rail base until the top of the projection I3 and the bearing surface I4 engage the bottom of the rail base, and the bearing surface I I engages the top of the rail base. The anchor is then driven onto the rail base in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 until the projection I3 clears the adjacent side edge of the rail base and is snapped up into the position shown in Fig. 3. As the anchor is thus applied to the rail base the arm I2 and that part of the bar I I beneath it are sprung apart, and thereafter, in the final, applied position of the anchor, the arm 52 and bar lI, grip the rail base if: firmly between them, as the anchor tends to' resume its normal condition.

The anchor is applied to the rail base l adjacent to a cross tie 8, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and, thereafter, as the rail tends to creep forwardly or in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2, the bar II will engage the cross tie 8 and prevent the creeping of the rail, due to the gripping action of the bar II' and arm I2 of the anchor upon the rail base.

The improved rail anchor is constructed of a single piece or bar of steel of substantially triangLLar cross section which is suitably bent and pressed to form the parts of the anchor as illustrated in the drawing.

The three sides of the triangular bar from which the anchor is made extend continuously through the bottom bar H of the anchor and through the arm i2 thereof, and one of the three sides it constitutes the top surface of the bottom bar ii and the bottom surface of the arm another of the three sides I9 constitutes forward surface of the bottom bar II and th forward surface of the arm I2; and another if the three sides 20 constitutes the bottom and ;.earward surface of the bar iI and the top and rearward surface of the arm l2.

By making the side 58 of the triangular bar of which the anchor is formed narrower than its other sides I9 and 20, I am enabled to increase te dimensions of the bar II and arm I2 which extend transversely of or at right angles to the 2 with relation to the dimensions thereof which extend longitudinally of the rail and thereby increase the strength and holding power of anchors of this type without increasing the quantity of metal used in the manufacture thereof.

he forward surface I9 of the bar ll extends i *ight angles to the bottom of the rail base if! for engagement with the cross tie 8 and the top surface I8 of the bar II extends at right angles to the surface I9 to provide the bearing parts or surfaces I4 and I5 for the bar II.

That portion of the arm I2 which extends inwardly toward and over the adjacent side of the rail base it is formed so that the upper portion of the arm will extend forwardly and upwardly from the lower portion thereof and overhang a free space between it and the top of the rail base, and so that the arm I2 will have a part i5- engaged with the rail base at the free end portion of the arm, and another part 2i spaced above the top of the rail base I0.

The forward surface I9 of the arm I2 extends forwardly and upwardly from the forward side of bottom surface l8 of the arm, and it is connected thereto by a curved portion 22 which constitutes a rounded bearing on which the arm i2 may be tilted laterally on the underlying rail base iii.

It will now be understood that if a car Wheel, moving forwardly on the rail 2,. becomes deand strikes the rail anchor arm 52, the of the derailed wheel will be upon the forwardly and upwardly inclined arm I! in the region, indicated at 23, above the part 2!, of the arm which is spaced above the rail base i9. When the arm I2 is thus struck by a derailed wheel, the force of the blow will not only bend the arm E2 to lessen or close the space 21 be tween the arm and the rail base, but it will also force the rounded bearing surface 22 down upon the rail base and tilt the arm forwardly on such rounded surface with the result that the blow delivered by the wheel to the anchor will be so cushioned by the action of the arm that the danger of rail breakage and damage, heretofore present, will be greatly reduced, and in many cases completely eliminated.

The provision of the rounded bearing surface 22 for the arm I2 lessens or eliminates the danger of damage to the rail heretofore caused by the objectionable nicking of the rail base by corner portions of rail anchors of prior construction.

In some instances, the lateral tilting of the rail anchor arm I2, by a derailed wheel will have the effect of twisting the anchor off from the rail base and thus prevent damage to the rail.

I claim:

1. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base and having its free end portion engaged with the top of the rail base, the upper portion of said arm extending laterally of the body of the arm and forwardly from the forward surface of the lower portion of said arm, and the forward part of said arm extending upwardly to a greater height above the rail base than the height to which the rearward part of said arm extends, and a projection on the other end of the bar extending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof.

2. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base and having its free end portion engaged with the top of the rail base, the upper part of said arm extending laterally of the body of the arm and forwardly from the forward surface of the lower part thereof in spaced relation to the top of the rail base, and the top surface of said arm progressively rising from the rearward side of the arm to the forward side thereof, and a projection on the other end of the bar extending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof.

3. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base and having a part thereof engaged with the top of the rail base at the free end portion of the arm and another part thereof spaced above the top of the rail base, the upper part of the spaced portion of said arm extending laterally of the body of the arm and forwardly from the forward surface of the lower part of the spaced portion of said arm, and the forward part of the spaced portion of said arm extending upwardly to a greater height above the rail base than the height to which the rear ward part of the spaced portion of said arm extends, and a projection on the other end of the bar extending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof.

4. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base and having a part thereof engaged with the top of the rail base at the free end portion of the arm and another part thereof spaced above the top of the rail base, the upper part of the spaced portion of said arm extending laterally of the body of the arm and forwardly from the forward surface of the lower part of the spaced portion of said arm, and the top surface of the spaced portion of said arm progressively rising from the rearward side of the arm to the forward side thereof, and a projection on the other end of the bar extending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof.

5. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base, and a projection on the other end of the bar extending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof; said arm being of substantially triangular cross section providing a bottom surface, a top surface and a forward surface for the arm, said bottom surface having a part thereof engaged with the top surface of the rail base at the free end portion of the arm and another part thereof spaced above the top of the rail base, said top surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the region of the rearward side of the spaced portion of said bottom surface, and said forward surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the region of the forward side of the spaced portion of said bottom surface.

6. The combination with a railroad rail, of a rail anchor comprising a bar extending transversely beneath the rail base and engaged with the bottom thereof, an arm extending upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base and having its free end portion engaged with the top of the rail base, and a projection on the other end of the bar ex tending above the bottom of the rail base adjacent to the edge of the other side thereof; said bar and said arm being of substantially triangular cross section providing three sides extending continuously throughout the same, one of said sides constituting the forward surface of the bar and the forward surface of the arm, the forward surface of the bar extending substantially at right angles to the rail base for engagement with a cross tie, and the forward surface of said arm extending upwardly and forwardly from a position above the rail base.

7. A rail anchor comprising a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base, an arm adapted to extend upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base, and means on the other end of the bar to retain the anchor in place upon the rail base, said anchor being formed of a bar of substantially triangular cross section having a part of one of its three sides constituting the top surface of said bottom bar adapted to engage the bottom of the rail base and another part of the same side constituting the bottom surface of said arm adapted to engage the top of the rail base; the forward surface of said arm extending forwardly and upwardly from the forward side of the bottom surface of the arm, and the top surface of said arm extending forwardly and upwardly from the rearward side of the bottom surface of the arm.

8. A rail anchor comprising a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base, an arm adapted to extend upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base, and means on the other end of the bar to retain the anchor in place upon the rail base, said anchor being formed of a bar of substantially triangular cross section having a part of one of its three sides constituting the top surface of said bottom bar adapted to engage the bottom of the rail base and another part of the same side constituting the bottom surface of said arm adapted to engage the top of the rail base, the forward surface of said arm extending forwardly and upwardly from the forward side of the bottom surface of the arm, the top surface of said arm extending forwardly and upwardly from the rearward side of the bottom surface of the arm, and the forward surface of said bottom bar extending downwardly from the top surface thereof substantially at right angles thereto for engagement with a cross tie.

9. A rail anchor comprising a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base, an arm adapted to extend upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base, and means on the other end of the bar to retain the anchor in place upon the rail base, said arm having a forward surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the forward side of the bottom surface of said arm in a direction laterally of the arm, and said arm having a top surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the rearward side of the bottom surface of the arm.

10. A rail anchor comprising a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base, an arm adapted to extend upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base, and means on the other end of the bar to retain the anchor in place upon the rail base, said arm having a forward surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the forward side of the bottom surface of the arm in a direction laterally of the arm and being connected thereto by a curved portion constituting a rounded bearing on which the arm may be tilted laterally on a rail base, and said arm having a top surface extending forwardly and upwardly from the rearward side of the bottom surface of the arm.

11. A rail anchor formed of metal and comprising a bottom bar adapted to extend transversely beneath the rail base, and an arm adapted to extend upwardly from one end of the bar and inwardly over one side of the rail base to clamp the rail base between the bar and the arm, said arm having a flat bottom surface adapted to engage the top surface of the rail base, and said arm having an upper portion extending longitudinally of the arm and being of less width than the lower portion thereof and whose top part is spaced forwardly from the forward side of said bottom surface, the major portion of the metal forming the arm being located rearwardly of the forward side of said bottom surface.

JAMES M. FAIR. 

